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Oh, ROFL. Did you read Pat Conroy's letter this AM in the paper? When he wasn't insulting Mayor Rausch, he was insisting that the annexation and development of the plantations NOB would destroy Beaufort County forever.

Why am I laughing? Because here is someone who all his life has touted the wonderfulness and heroism of 'the little guy', the ineptness of man to make his own way or his own decisions without intensive psychiatric help (or words of wisdom from some unnoticed local sage), the meanness of bureaucracy to 'the poor little guy' - all so he can line his pockets and live more than comfortably on the backs of the poor people with whom he so "deeply sympathises and relates". In other words - "I got mine, the rest of you can't have yours". I have utterly despised him since his whimpering self-pitying lies about the Citadel, where I had friends who not only attended but taught. His holier-than-thou-ness has always been offensive and insulting to the real workers and survivors of poverty and discrimination. My definition of Pat Conroy - "Great Wordsmith, lousy liar".

So once again he lightly dances to the fore, calling for rebellion and insisting that "we" must save the City, the County, and apparently the Nation - from growth and prosperity and all of those other evil things that the developers bring.

God forbid I should devoutly defend developers - yes, they are in the main seeking profit on the backs of others (much like Conroy). However, instead of putting up barbed-wire fences at the borders, and shooting all the DamYankee baby boomers who want to move here, why not demand a comprehensive plan that addresses infrastructure and cost effectiveness for the developers - in other words, a PDD from Hell that makes sure that those who move here pay for the services that they demand? That demands the retention of our greenspace and play space? That provides for the protection of our waterways by more-than-adequate drainage and runoff dictums?

Ever driven SOB since you wrote about Daufuskie, Pat? If you had, you'd see that the rivers and waterways and ocean here are very much in demand, and that the comeyahs are pouring in without stopping. While it may be easy to deny in your oh-so-cosy nest NOB, the fact is that it has been coming for twenty years - whether you knew about it or not. Instead of demanding stoppage, demand protection. The former they cannot do, the latter, they CAN. And should. But not as long as you and your blinded cohorts shockingly announce that "The yankees ah comin!" - when they are already here.

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the same article and can not believe that someone who has the gift of wordsmithing is so mean and hateful. You are right, he has his now he doesn't want anybody else to have theirs. He doesn't even live in the City of Beaufort, lives on Fripp Island, a PUD community, with security gates and the whole nine yards. I would never waste my money on buying one of his books. He is such a joke, and if I was Mayor Raush I might consider filing a defemation of character law suit against him.

I have mixed feelings with Conroy's books. On one hand, he describes the beauty of this lowcountry as no one else has. Many people have moved here based on the scenery he described. On the other hand his characters are mostly misfits from dysfunctional families. I told my wife that "he describes how to hate your parents in 1,001 ways". Most locals have stories about Conroy before he became famous and I have some, too.

As for the current debate NOB on the annexation, many people NOB do not want that annexation to happen. The two major points are the loss of rural lands to commercial, high density overdevelopment and the fear of traffic bottlenecks on the only evacuation route (Highway 21) for all NOB residents.

Many see Rauch as a opportunist mayor in this debate with land hungry annexations plotted out in a loose jigsaw pattern to grab land 15 miles away from the town limits.

Even the MCAS overlay committee has not approved the plan yet, but he is rushing a vote Wednesday instead of waiting until all affected committees have spoken. He is trying to get a vote before new council members are sworn in in January.

The best thing they can do is to table that vote until next year and have more time to iron out the problems.

"Conroy was fired at the conclusion of his first year of teaching on the island for his unconventional teaching practices, including his refusal to use corporal punishment on students, and for his lack of respect for the school's administration."

"wait until the Northern Beaufort County Master Plan comes out next May"

EXACTLY! It will not be "smart growth", if it's rushed, as is being done now! Rauch wants this done before the seat change. Frank Glover is in favor of this, and he was voted out.
I live out here. NOONE can tell me, if this passes, our taxes won't go up. Sure, they say they won't. And I trust them? NOT! Did I know this was coming? Yep, I did! They ran outta room and this was the only way left to go LOL.

When Bob Criddle was ferrying Pat back and forth to Daufuskie it was a little like delivering a missonary. Mariculture was failing but old Daufuskie families clung to their values. Children were beaten. Pat had been on the receiving end of a fist himself enough to refuse the orders to "knock'em down."

I put Pat down back then as a Don Quixote. I figured he would never amount to anything if he couldn't get along with authority.

None of us I suppose is all good or bad. Thre's no question though that this letter from Pat is a revealing career low.

That he has; I have that same problem. It's his arrogant insistence that his way - the stand up and shout, and rebel obnoxiously and without full information, and self-righteous self-promotion as the only good guy in a world of evil people, that bugs me so much... then his making millions on his stories about his own self pity because no ones' listening to him, so he can live a life of leisure and sneer down at all the little people. If he REALLY believed in everything he espouses, he would be down in the trenches making a real difference. He wasn't, doesn't, and he never has. Guess he has run thru the royalties and needs to make some more noise.

You know what I think is sad about this? It's the nastiness, nastiness that smacks of jealousy, given its source, that is obvious in the original post and the follow-up by the same person. When anyone here garners the audience that Pat Conroy has, well then maybe criticism of his professional success might be appropriate, but until then you can't help but wonder why someone would take to task a person's civic interest on the grounds of his authorship. Methinks it's the pot calling the kettle black when it comes to "his arrogant insistence that his way - the stand up and shout, and rebel obnoxiously and without full information..."

I did not see any nastiness here. Mr. Conroy has made millions, lives in his fancy house far removed from the realities of what goes on and wants to yell and scream for the "better good" of the "little people".

BUT, what has he REALLY done to improve things in the county? It takes more than calling out a mayor to make things happen. How has he ever really "put himself out there" for the betterment of the community? From my perspective...He Hasn't!

I aint but know her thru the written word, but if you have not followed Pat Conroy for the decades she has, you really need to do your homework. If you have not followed land development issues vis-a-vis county and incorporated, you probably don't have a clue what Conroy's article is about.
He KNOWS better, that is what ticks us off! He lives in a gated community protected by 400 pages of restrictions. Easy to call foul when you sit in his seat. And WHERE are the dollars to come from to purchase development rights, as well as land for conservation. He doesn't deal with realities, but he shore nuff deals with I got Mine, don't you get yours mentality.http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/LethalWhiteAussieRescue/www.handicappedpets.net

I'm not following how Conroy is "lining his pockets... on the backs of the poor people". Is it his work as an author that is being referred to here?-because his works of fiction contain poor characters? If he had been profiting from development all along and is now calling for a pulling up of the drawbridges that would be one thing-but is this the case?

Aren't we voicing some of the same complaints? Does his being wealthier than most of us here (I presume) mean he should not make any statements concerning local and current issues? Does everyone think Mayor Rausch is doing a good job?

Conroy has a deep association with this area. Whay should he not say something? Would it be better if wealthy people stayed in their "fancy houses" and said nothing about a problem because it doesn't effect them? He's not down in the trenches doing anything? I would say he's doing what he does best- voicing a written opinion. Someone must be listening to him or he wouldn't have made all those "millions on his stories about his own self pity because no ones' listening to him".

I don't see what his book about the Citadel, written nearly 25 years ago, has to do with his opinions on current goings on about town.

Who's to say he's not doing anything else? And I seriously doubt he has run through his royalties. That just seems llike sniping. If the only people who can voice a complaint about the way things are going here are those who don't live in a PUD we're going to come up seriously short on numbers! I suppose we could also impose an income restriction.

GDB-It costs far less to take land out of development than it does to pay for the infrastructure were those same areas to be developed. I have followed that quite closely over the years. I know where the majority of my dollars are going- to school funding, and now roads (not counting those I've "contributed" to Haliburton).

I don't follow you on this? " He doesn't deal with realities, but he shore nuff deals with I got Mine, don't you get yours mentality." What aren't you going to get here-or what have you got to lose if Fripp, Beaufort, etc. isn't developed?

edit: I went back through the letter again to be certain I hadn't missed something and I don't see anything all that off the wall. Nobody is addressing the points he made- only commenting on Conroy and whatever his perceived emotional/personal weaknesses. Does anybody really believe that these things AREN'T happening behind closed doors as was the view he related?

It just doesn't look good to have the Mayor call a special meeting so that the current Council can vote (likely to approve the annexation) rather than wait for the Regional Plan to come out next year when a new Council will be seated. I don't know anything about it more than that, but Conroy's point that it's fishy to rush something through before people have time to organize doesn't seem to be unreasonable. He's an emotional guy, and he writes that way. And he has written about encroaching development in some of his books. Maybe someone from Beaufort is better informed. And maybe someone will post an update from tonight's meeting, which I heard was expected to be packed.

like a rush to me. The original documents that have been posted on the City of Beaufort's website have been there since January, 2006, almost a year. As far as Pat Conroy's statements, they are nasty and hateful. With his ability to write he could have garnered much more support for his point of view by being civil rather than nasty. According to some people around here he talks nasty and hateful about his father so I guess we shouldn't expect anything but nasty about anybody else.

I understand your point, however, there has been at least 7 revisions posted to the City's website throughout the last 11 months. If people were really interested they could have read or printed each version but in the 13 years I have been in Beaufort County I have noticed that people really tend to only get worked up about things at the last minute and that is usually too late. My point is if 11 months is too quick what is the timeframe that people expect decisions to be made by their elected officials?

The IP article says that plans were submitted in January BUT that the revised plans were submitted on November 21, which was two days before Thanksgiving, not a time when activism is at its most active. The cynic in me says the timing isn't an accident.

Annexation and development of the Clarendon Farms and McLeod Farm properties was proposed to the Beaufort City Council in January, with plans for 4.6 million square feet of commercial space and more than 16,000 homes to be built during the next 20 to 40 years on the combined 5,156 acres.

The council unanimously approved the proposals on the first of two required readings in January. That sparked widespread protest from residents, who raised environmental and economic concerns and charged that rampant development would ruin Beaufort's unique charm.

The properties' owners submitted revised proposals to the city that would curb development to 8,935 homes and approximately 2 million square feet of commercial space. Those plans were presented at a public workshop Nov. 21.

After that workshop, the City Council sent the plans to the Beaufort-Port Royal Joint Municipal Planning Commission for a recommendation. The commission will meet today.

Then last week, the City Council announced it would vote on the proposals at a special session two days after the Planning Commission meeting. The vote will be preceded by unlimited public comment.

As I said, I don't know anything about this whole thing because I haven't been following it, but I can see why people are upset, and to me it IS a "rush" to vote two days after the Planning Commission makes its recommendation. There's not a lot of organized activism that can take place in those two days, although, granted, those who've protested all year might have anticipated that revised plans would be presented, recommended and voted on. It's doubtful, though, that they anticipated that it would all happen before the end of the year when nothing has happened for ten months.

Edit add: Maybe I should have changed the tenses in the last paragraph to reflect the fact that the recommendation was submitted on Monday and the vote scheduled for last night.

Regional Plan will probably be as much of a waste of time and money as the Southern Bft Plan was. There is always more talk than action when government is involved. The Northern plan should have been done first considering that major development had not occurred there yet, but in true government fashion that was put off until officials were faced with a potentially major development.

The city is known to do things behind closed doors. They scheduled a vote VERY last minute and had it 2 days before Thanksgiving! C'mon! Also, the city admits to having been in discussion with the two landowners for well over 8 (EIGHT) years. I do wonder thou, had the BOE decided NOT to pick the NAHS land the other night, would last nights vote still have happened? Whyyyyy couldn't the city just friggin wait till May?? Our elected officials (city & county) LOVE to spend money ( and LOTS of it) for "studies" but never, ever take them into consideration. Rauch is quoted to have said "those in opposition being unreasonable". Well, I say he and his little groupies are unreasonable! WHY couldn't you have WAITED? WHY risk losing the Air Station?? Now, I don't know if the vote would have been diff. after Glover ( who didn't win the election) leaves. He was in the pocket for Rauch. There is nothing smart about this annexation!

That MCAS is constantly under attack and is liable to be eliminated in the next round of base closings - simply because it is smaller and less viable than others of its ilk? Haven't you seen the writing on the wall for the past two rounds - especially if the Democrats come back into power at the Federal level and cut military spending again? Sanford and Republican reps for the State will not be able to keep MCAS off of the firing line forever, and their grasp is fast slipping. They can deny it but they know it. They have brain function. There is no Strom Thurmond on the Armed Services

IF the city was doing it for the RIGHT reasons... it wouldn't be so hard to swallow. They are doing it out of GREED. Plain and simple!

WC, you know I don't pretend to know everything. I certainly can't outwit or outsmart you. I have a hard enough time keepin' up w/ ya LOL. But, I do know this is wrong. I'm not saying Beaufort shouldn't "grow", I'm saying.. Take the time to figure out the costs. Take the time to figure out how to pay for the costs. Pros n cons. That's pretty much what all those in opposition asked for.

As for MCAS.. Yes, I've watched it twice get saved. MCAS is an important element out here. So much for the, "We support our bases" bumper stickers.

The only problem I see is that Beaufort City Council in its arrogance has refused to explain to its constituents that they are NOT the Holy City of Beaufort, sacrosanct, rolling in dough, and forever able to maintain the facade of peaceful Southern gentility and grace that they have heretofore maintained. They aren't telling their constituents that costs for services are rapidly increasing, and that their income is not keeping up. They are not telling them that the cost of the bureaucracies to maintain those services

No doubt the decision to table the McLeod plan was a wise move and the McLeod family, after seeing all of the protests, asked them to table it and they are to find another planner.

There is some speculation about Clarendon that the Cox family that owns it is planning to place it is a conservation easement, which will prevent any development. In order to maximize the tax break, however, they want to have it appear as though it is to be developed. The tax break is computed on an appraisal of the value at the time of application minus the value after the easement. Since the plantation is zoned rural now, the annexation will allow the city to rezone to a higher value for the property, giving the Cox family the benefit they desire.

What does the city get? A large footprint in a rural area that will allow other property owners with contiguous borders, including the McLeods ,an opportunity to apply for annexation. It is a large foot in the door.

The big question is what will happen to the 30,000 people in the base in Virginia that may get moved here. With 186,000 people in the whole county, that is a whopper of an increase in population and infrastructure needs. Will the Secretary of the Navy condemn a large area next to Laurel Bay Housing? Clarendon Plantation is already near Laurel Bay and it may become a target. Either way, the city gets what it wants with that large footprint.

Sounds like some sour grapes going on here. The guy put Beaufort, SC on the world map, and thou dost complain about his right to object to destruction of his homeland? Just because he's rich? Just because he objected to abusing children when he was a teacher in Daufuskie?? Yeeks, values, people!

Some of you may have known Pat Conroy when...but I admire his integrity and I give him his right to object...behind gates or not, rich or poor...give me your whatever. He's an icon! We, in the lowcountry, owe him.

Stuckon278, in your other blog you are fussing about all of the impacts of all of the Yankees moving here - yet you want to congratulate amd praise Pat Conroy for 'putting us on the map'? Isn't that sort of disingenous? IF he did such a great thing, then isn't he one of the MAIN CAUSES for people moving here?

Although I don't think PC had that much to do with it. It was and has always been the military base and Fraser / the HHI Chamber of Commerce!

Yes, Pat Conroy has the perfect right to raise his voice to complain about anything at all. What he should do first is to get involved and find out what's really going on, not simply (as is his normal modus operandi) run his yip about his emotional

Err.just what lies about the Citadel do you base this whole thing on WC.There is and was hazing,some of it not too pretty,lots of it.Its part of the process,most knobs get over it and accept it.Some can't,they leave,good riddance.

Was established as a military officers' training school. Their whole theory is to break down the knobs' pre-existing pride and arrogance, to make them malleable, to turn them into open-minded, thoughtful, quickly responsive and decisive individuals who could lead armies, governments, or even classrooms full of people with a sure and decisive hand.

Masters of Discipline were people who led by example and firm decisions. Were they

WC...right on! Example...Viet-Nam...look at the ratio of Marines killed vs. Army. Sure the Army had more present there...but go a step further into dividing up the numbers into a percentile. I believe it was something like 4 Army killed to 1 Marine. Why???? Training! Training! Training! The Marine boot camps are tough but it pays off. No sissy crap here. Mammas boys get a quick Section 8!

So to boil all that down your problem with Conroy is that he and his like are responsible for the degeneration of the military and American standard? The Citadel has toned down its practices not because of Conroy,more because we live in a ever changing society.Change is not always good,but its inevitable.

Your lambasting Of Conroy leaves me scratching my head,aren't you the one is is always preaching about leaving personal attacks out of debates?

Those who are able to attain positions of power to make hard decisions have to be responsible for those decisions, to suck it up and "do what is right, let the consequence follow",

A politician who does that won't be appreciated by the masses or be around long.Where did I hear that before I wonder?

Who "suck it up and do what is right "- also have to be able to communicate exactly what and why they are doing to the populace. As I pointed out above, several times, that has NOT been done by Beaufort City Council. THAT is why they are getting so much flak from their constituents - and from people who are not even constituents! Because they have not been up front and gotten the buy-in that they need from their constituents, because they are too deeply enmeshed in what they are doing to realize that their constituents have to have everything explained to them. Not to say that their constiuents are stupid! - far from it - but they have not gotten the word out as to what they are doing. That could be the fault of the news media - which notoriously listens more to whining from developers with an agenda, or to any opposition of any kind, factually based or no, than to the people who know what is going on. It could be the fault of their legal advisors, attorneys are notorious for telling government officals, "Don't tell them" even when the people should know, need to know.

Wiley Coyote? I am a Yankee, why would I object to them?
I object to developers and politicians who have no respect for our community, and if it takes an icon like Pat Conroy, who I would imagine has tons more influence than any of us, unless, of course, we are as well known and talented as he is, to tell the politicians, who REPRESENT us...the peons who elected them, then what is wrong with that??

We came because we loved it, we should not tolerate the destruction of nature and the reason why we came.

WC, it's not the "impact of all the yankees"...it's the impact of greed, lies, and incompetence. Sorry about the woah, btw.

I agree with you that Conroy's error was his personal attacks and character assassination. I guess he is so used to writing negative characters in his books that he does it in real life. He did it with professional writing, but not in a professional way. As all of us should, argue the facts and issues, not the personalities. He could have written a beautiful plea for conservation and slower managed growth, but he bears the responsibility for his lack of professionalism. He could redeem himself by making a public plea without the fictional characters.

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